Attention 4-12 grade teachers who would like an opportunity to engage your students with citizen science and watershed stewardship! 4-H Alabama Water Watch is happy to announce the continuation and expansion of the Exploring Pathogen Pollution in Our Waters Project, which is supported by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Bays and Watershed Education Training (BWET) Program. 4-H AWW piloted the project successfully with Coastal Educators during the 2021-2022 school year. In 2023, educators and students from around the state (and beyond) can participate.
Teachers (grades 4-12) are invited to apply for a limited number of spots to participate in the required Professional Development Training that will prepare them to conduct bacteriological monitoring and other project activities with their students during the 2023-2024 school year. Please review the brief description of the Professional Development Training and Project Implementation to decide if this project would be a good fit for your classroom.
Professional Development Training Schedule (tentative)
PD Training includes three major online and in-person components, all of which must be completed to participate in the project.
Project Implementation
Participating teachers commit to taking students to conduct bacteriological monitoring at a local waterbody at least four times during the school year. This project will provide monitoring materials and some assistance with travel costs to support this effort. Participating school groups will enter their water data into the AWW database. The students will learn how to use the online AWW Water Data Tools to complete basic data analysis and interpretation of their data for a final project that they will share with other students, community leaders, and organizations working in water quality.
Learn More
Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2023-2024 school year. However, we will offer another opportunity to get involved for the 2024-2025 school year.
Feel free to contact AWW for more information by emailing awwprog@auburn.edu or calling 334-844-4785. You can also sign up to receive the AWWareness Email Newsletter, which includes periodic project updates and other 4-H AWW training opportunities.